TITLE: Coming Home
EMAIL: Drus1lla@hotmail.com
RATING: PG I think.
DISCLAIMER: The characters obviously don't belong to me because the last time I 
checked I wasn't an acid-tripping guy named Joss Whedon who likes to torment his fans!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, I couldn't get this idea out of my head.  I just had to write it.  
Here it goes, everything happened in Doomed, except the end part where Buffy goes to 
Riley and kisses him, (ick!)  I am so obviously not a Riley-lover.  I am forever and 
always stuck in denial-land, and will continue to write 	happy-ending fics!  I know I 
need help.  Please with the feedback, I love it so.
SUMMARY: Cordelia has a vision, Buffy's in it.  Enough said.

Willow tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, tearing her gaze from the computer 
monitor in front of her to look at her best friend.  Buffy was lying on her bed in their 
dorm room, moaning slightly as she dreamt.  There were suitcases and clothing scattered 
about the room, indicating that they would soon be leaving for winter break.  Buffy 
whimpered again, tossing slightly.  A knock on the door focused Willow's attention away 
from the Slayer.

She got up from her seat, stretching her muscles from their cramped position and opened 
the door.  Riley Finn stood on the other side of the threshold, looking down at her.  "Hi," 
she managed to spit out.  She and Buffy had been up talking, about what she had found 
out about Riley, about what they had told each other.  That she knew he was one of the 
commandos, that she had told him she was the Slayer.

Which was pretty much all she had told him.  All he knew was that she fought demons; 
he didn't know what her life was like.  Not like he had told her much, they had it pretty 
well figured out.  She looked up at him; he wasn't taking the brush off really well.  Plus 
the whole Hellmouth trying to open up hadn't really settled well with Buffy.  And from 
the way she was tossing at night, she wasn't getting any rest while she slept.

"Is Buffy here?  I kind of wanted to talk to her," Riley explained.  He looked at the 
redhead again, wondering how much she knew.  Of course the last time he'd seen her, he 
had been in 'full GI Joe gear' as she put it.

"She did tell me you know," Willow leaned against the doorframe.  "I'm her best friend, I 
know who she is, and it wasn't all that tough to figure you out."

"Oh," he muttered.

"But yeah, she's here.  She's asleep," Willow threw over her shoulder, looking back to 
her friend who was once again whimpering.

Riley poked his head around the door, seeing Buffy thrashing slightly on her bed.  Forrest 
had thought the Slayer was a myth, but Riley knew she wasn't.  She was right here, just 
across the room from him.  Dreaming about something that was obviously bothering her, 
"Is she okay?"

"Sometimes her dreams come true, and it's not always good.  Like when those guys came 
and we all lost our voices, she dreamt about it before it happened."

"Why?"

"Part of her being the Slayer, plus it helps us find out what we're fighting."

"Well why are you fighting too?"

"Because she's my best friend, and I won't leave her to fight alone.  That's what the 
Scooby Gang is here for."

"The who?"

They both spun their heads back around as Buffy sat bolt upright in her bed, loudly 
gasping for air.  She closed her eyes, pressing the palm of her hand to her forehead.  She 
swung her legs over the side of the bed, trying to still the racing of her heart.

"Buffy you okay?" Willow came up beside her best friend.  "What happened?"

Buffy exhaled deeply, before looking at Willow.  "It's nothing."

"You sure?" Riley asked from the doorway.

She looked up at him, before she closed her eyes again.  "I'm fine."

"Do you need any help?"

"No I'm good.  Thanks for saving my life last night."

"Sure, of course.  I'm guessing you haven't changed your mind about the whole you and 
me thing, huh?"

"No, I really haven't.  Riley, I will see you at the final tomorrow.  Willow, we'll Bronze 
it later.  Right now, the Chosen One has to go spend her time where she usually does," 
Buffy said, slightly exasperated.  She picked up her purse, pulling the strap over her head 
as she walked out the door.

Buffy knew it was better to not get involved with anyone right now.  She had tried the 
normal thing in high school, it hadn't worked then why would it work now?  She didn't 
want to draw out the inevitable.  Besides, with the dreams she'd been having lately, 
moving on was proving to be virtually impossible.

She continued walking through the cemetery, wishing she had never woken up.  The 
dreams had started when she had come back from LA.  Dreams of Angel, dreams of what 
they couldn't have together.  Something inside her kept saying that they weren't just 
dreams, that this had happened.  But she knew there was no possible way it could have.  
She was just driving herself insane with her fantasies again.

"Well, no vampire activity tonight," she murmured to herself.  There were people waiting 
for her, waiting where there was fun to be had.  Anything to take her mind off everything 
that had been happening lately.  Demons had tried to open the Hellmouth; Riley was one 
of the Commandos who captured Spike, Spike in Xander's shirt.  She giggled to herself 
as she pictured him in Xander's clothing again.


Angel stood under the staircase in the Bronze, watching for her.  He remembered when 
he used to stand here and watch, like right before she had found out what he was.  
Suddenly his entire body came alive, that was the only way to describe what happened 
when she came anywhere near him.  He wondered if that's what it was like with her.  He 
knew it was only a matter of time before she knew he was there.  Somehow they always 
just knew when the other was near.

She walked through the door then, looking around before going to join Willow and 
Xander.  Her face lit up when Willow said something, and her laughter reached his ears.  
Xander looked up and pointed at something, Buffy turned to see what it was and her 
smile immediately faded.  She got that look on her face that let him know she was 
annoyed about something, or in this case someone.  He saw the boy he had seen her 
talking with when he had come before.

Cordelia came up to him, wondering at the expression on his face.  "Did you find her?"

"She's over there," he said, indicating her direction.

"She know you're here yet?"

"No, I've stayed out of sight."

"So if she's over there, then why aren't we over there too?"

"Maybe we just should've called," he answered.  He looked down at her, the pain evident 
in his eyes.  "I've got no right to intrude on her life."

"You don't have a right?" she asked, getting him to look her in the eye.  "You love her, 
and she loves you.  Do you think that'll ever change?"  It had taken a while, but he had 
finally opened up to her about what had gone on with him and Buffy the day he had been 
human.  She was glad that he hadn't given her too many details, but he had talked about 
it.  Their talk after the dreams he had had recently had helped him to be more honest with 
her.  "Come on, they need to know we're here and why we're here.  Or we could just go 
back to LA where the empty office is waiting for us.  Oh but then again Kate's there, so 
now that you have her," Cordelia trailed off at the dark look Angel shot her.

"Kate's a friend.  That's all."

"I know, just getting you out of your funk.  We have work to do."

"I wish you'd just tell me what you saw."

"You didn't exactly give me a chance to say anything before you pulled me out the door, 
now did you?"

He turned his head as five people walked out the door together.  "We do have work to 
do," he said as he followed them outside.

"So where's your other friend?" Riley asked, joining the conversation.

"He's been exiled to research land," Xander answered.

Buffy smiled at Xander, then turned her head as a group of people walked past them.  She 
watched them for a moment, walking along confidently.  Her spider sense was going 
crazy.  Vampires.  Good thing too, she was itching for a fight after patrol had brought up 
nothing.  She jumped off her stool, walking to the door to save the two people that were 
with them.  Willow and Xander recognized the look on her face, and immediately moved 
to follow her outside.

The three of them caught up with her outside, she stood just out of the door looking for 
the people she had seen.  They all turned when they heard the sounds of a fight.  Buffy 
didn't look behind her as she quickly ran to see what it was.  Two girls were running 
away, as someone was fighting off the three vampires that had just tried to kill them.  
Buffy pulled the stake out of her pocket and jumped into the fight.

Riley was about to jump in too when a female voice stopped him.  "I wouldn't do that if I 
were you," Cordelia said, walking towards them.  "I think they've pretty much got it 
covered."

"Cordy?" Willow asked.
	
"Some things never change," Cordelia smiled, stopping in front of Xander and Willow.  
"And then some things do," she said, noticing Riley.

Riley looked away from the brunette in front of him to where Buffy was fighting.  She 
staked the vampire in front of her, then started towards them.  He saw a vampire come up 
behind her; none of the others were looking in her direction.  "Buffy, behind you!"

The others turned to see, as Buffy whirled around, her stake poised and ready.  She 
looked at the vampire in front of her, and froze.  From what he had seen of her fighting, 
he knew she didn't just stop like that.  She and the vampire were looking at each other, 
and her hand slowly drifted back down to her side.

Angel's visage changed back to human when Buffy turned to face him.  He looked down 
at the woman he loved more than his own life, a stake raised in her hand.  Once again, his 
mind took him back to the one day they had experienced together.  He would never forget 
that day, when he had been blessed to hold her once more.  Buffy looked up at him, her 
Angel.  They continued to just stare at each other, their souls rejoicing at the sight of one 
another.

"Uh, what's going on?" Riley asked.

Cordelia, Willow, and Xander all looked away from where Buffy and Angel stood 
together.  "Who's he?" Cordy asked.

"Long story," Xander answered.  "To both questions actually.  What're you guys doing 
here?"

"That's a long story too.  We should actually go to Giles."  Cordelia turned back to Angel 
and Buffy; they were still just standing there looking at each other.  "Angel, reason for 
being here," she called.

Yes, he thought to himself.  They were there for a reason, and she was standing right in 
front of him.  When Cordelia had mentioned Buffy's name after her vision, he hadn't 
given her a chance to talk.  The two of them had left for Sunnydale immediately.  Wesley 
had stayed behind at the office; doing what good he could with Kate's help.  He tore his 
gaze away from Buffy to look at Cordelia and the others.

"Willow, Xander," he greeted them.

"Hey Angel," Willow smiled at him.

"Well let's get going then," Buffy managed.

The Scooby Gang was all together again, well except for Oz.  They all looked around at 
each other, Buffy and Angel avoiding each other's gazes.  "Kinda like old times, huh?" 
Xander mused.

Cordelia nodded her head, agreeing with him.  "Too bad we blew up the library, cuz then 
it really would be.  So where we headed?"

"Giles' place," Buffy answered.  "New headquarters.  This must obviously be important if 
you couldn't just pick up the phone."

"Yeah," Cordelia agreed.  "And we shouldn't get into it out here."  She looked over to 
where Riley stood staring at them.  "Who's that?"

"That's Riley," Willow answered.  "He's the TA from our psych class.  He might actually 
be helpful, I'm thinking.  If we're fighting a big brewin' evil here," she trailed off.

"Let's go," Buffy whispered, leading the way to Giles' place.


Giles looked up as the door to his apartment opened.  Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, 
Angel, and another boy stepped inside.  Spike made his way out of the back room when 
he heard the activity.  He stopped when he saw Angel, a scowl immediately covering his 
Sire's face.

"What's he doing here?!" Cordelia demanded.

Spike grinned at them, "Well now the fun's going to begin.  Good to see you two again."

"Let's skip the fun," Buffy said, walking over to stand by Giles.  "Let's just get to the 
Cliff's Notes version of the long story."

Cordelia looked up at Angel, not able to talk about Doyle's death.  He nodded at her, then 
shoved his hands in his pockets.  "A few weeks ago we had a visit from a group of 
demons known as the Scourge.  Doyle was killed," he paused to swallow the lump in his 
throat.

Buffy stole a glance at him, understanding just how deeply he had been hurt by the loss 
of his friend.  "Are you okay?"

He looked up at her, grateful for her concern.  "We managed to make it through."

"Only before he died," Cordelia picked up, "he managed to pass on the mind-numbing 
visions to me.  So I get them now."

"Ooh, Cordy's got a super-power," Xander quipped.

"Shut up Xander," Willow, Cordelia, and Buffy all intoned.

"So I had a vision," Cordelia looked up at Buffy.  "You were in it, we came to 
Sunnydale."

"Thought it'd be better not to skulk," Angel said.

Buffy smiled, nodding her head at the memory.  "So what happened in this vision?"

Cordelia's gaze suddenly turned serious.  "Buffy we've been through too much for me to 
lie to you."

"Why are we suddenly not liking the sound of this?" Xander stood up, moving closer to 
Cordelia.

Cordelia looked away from Angel and Buffy, they would be the most affected by what 
she was about to say.  "Buffy, I saw you fighting something.  I don't know what.  You 
were hurt, there was a lot of blood.  Buffy, in my vision you were dead."

The room was silent after Cordelia's announcement.  Buffy moved away from everyone, 
walking over to stare out the windows.  Even Spike was at a loss for words.  Riley stood 
and listened to it all, wondering what they were going to do about what they just heard.  
All of these people had obviously worked together before, but he couldn't understand 
why Buffy hadn't staked the vampire named Angel.  The way they had looked at each 
other, Angel was a threat to any hopes of a relationship he might've talked Buffy into.

Angel looked up at her, taking in the fact that her death had been foretold again. He knew 
he shouldn't, he knew he had no right to even touch her, but her heart was crying out to 
his.  He walked over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder.  She immediately turned, 
wrapping her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. It had been too long 
since he'd held her, since she had felt his arms wrapped around her. He rested his 
forehead against the top of her head, his arms immediately pulling her close. "I'm not 
going to let anything happen to you," he whispered softly, so that only she could hear.

"What the?" Riley started.

Willow silenced him with a glare and a shake of her head, knowing that Angel was the 
only one who could be there for Buffy right now.  "So we don't know what exactly we're 
fighting here huh?"

"I think it's a safe bet that it's not anything good," Spike offered, taking Willow's cue.  
The Slayer had just all but heard she was going to die, that it was prophesized or what 
have you.  She needed Angel right now.

"Again, what is he doing here?" Cordelia queried.

"He came to us for help.  I'll explain later," Giles said, noticing Riley's curious glance.  
"Whatever it is, it can't be anything worse than what we've just recently faced."  He 
turned to where Buffy and Angel still stood holding each other.  They might not be 
together as a couple, but neither one of them was ready to try and live in a world where 
their soulmate did not even exist.

Buffy looked up at Angel, her eyes roaming over his face.  He was looking down at her 
much in the same way she was looking at him, carefully trying to keep their passion in 
check.  He could feel her breath on his skin, feel her heart racing in her chest.  This was 
where she belonged, right here in his arms.  They both knew it, they both felt it.

Cordelia and Willow exchanged a glance as they watched the two lovers holding each 
other.  Cordy walked over to stand by the witch, and leaned close to her ear.  "We have to 
talk."  She stole another glance over at Buffy and Angel, then turned back to Willow.  
"Soon."

Willow nodded at her, then cleared her throat.

Their eyes met once more, then Buffy quickly moved out of Angel's arms.  "So I'm 
gonna die, good to know."

"Buffy," Willow began.

"What?" she whirled to face her friend.

"Buff nothing's gonna happen, we're not going to let it," Xander said, going to stand by 
Willow and Buffy.  "We're all together again," he looked over at Angel, understanding 
that right now was not the time to say anything about the past.  "Dead Boy and Cordy are 
here too.  We'll get through this, whatever this is."

"Knock it off Xander," Cordelia sighed, defending her friend.

Buffy wrapped her arms around herself, turning away from everyone once more.  "Yeah, 
because I can cheat my foretold death a second time?  Not likely."

"You can't mean you're going to give up and just accept this?" Spike asked.

Buffy didn't know exactly what it was, but she was angry.  Here they had just stopped 
demons from opening the Hellmouth and it was going to be something else that finally 
got to her.  She took her lower lip between her teeth, trying to still her heart.  Angel's 
arms around her had felt so wonderful, so right.  She hadn't wanted to leave the comfort 
and security she felt there, but they couldn't be together.

"Buffy, I know with the earthquake and this whole event with the Hellmouth that it 
brought back some unpleasant memories.  We've never let anything stop us before, and 
we're certainly not going to let anything get in our way this time," Giles stated.

"Buffy maybe the dreams you've been having lately have something to do with this," 
Riley suggested.

"They don't," she answered quietly.

"You've been having nightmares again?" Giles asked.

"No," she shook her head.  "Just regular old dreams that have absolutely nothing to do 
with this."

"Are you sure?" Angel asked her.

She looked over at him, remembering how incredible her dreams had been.  How she had 
actually been able to feel his lips on her skin, his hands on her body, feel the love they 
had lost.  "Positive."

Willow furrowed her brow, "But you seemed so, I mean they didn't seem like happy 
dreams.  I mean you really haven't been sleeping well, and waking up all oogey."

"Good point," Buffy sighed.  "But I know they've got nothing to do with it."

"Well what have you been dreaming about?" Giles asked.

"Nothing important," she answered quickly.  She couldn't exactly tell them she'd been 
having dreams about Angel being human and the two of them making love all day long.  
And then she'd wake up and reality was that he was still a vampire that it was all just a 
fantasy, and she was alone.

"Okay, that's not helping any," Spike interrupted.  "What exactly are we going to do?  
We're not any closer to finding out what's going on."

"What's that whole vibe about?" Cordy looked at him incredulously.  "Since when are 
you Mr. I'm Here to Help?"

"Giles told you, long story coming later.  Point is, I'm helping."

"Well maybe a protection spell would help," Willow suggested.

"Uh, Will not to doubt your focus or ability here but how about not?" Buffy looked at her 
friend.

"Yeah Will," Xander agreed.  "We're all still kind of reeling from the last whammy ya 
pulled on us."

"Yeah Red, I'm sorry but I've got to agree," Spike spoke up.  "I still haven't been able to 
get, sorry," he trailed off at the glare he got from Buffy.

"I'm guessing there's something really fun that we missed here," Cordelia said, looking 
at Spike and Buffy who seemed the most uncomfortable.  "What'd you do Willow?"

"Let's not get side-tracked," Giles pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.  
"We're not going to find out anything tonight.  Buffy, you and Willow go back to your 
room and prepare yourselves for your exams tomorrow.  Afterwards we'll all meet back 
here and try and research."

"Had to bring up finals didn't you?" Buffy moped.

"I'll walk you guys back to the dorm," Riley said, moving away from the wall he had 
been leaning against.

Riley, Willow and Buffy all made their way to the front door.  Buffy turned to look back 
to where Angel stood with the others.  She knew he would do everything he could to keep 
her safe.  But afterwards, after whatever danger was over, she would have to watch him 
walk away again.  She didn't know if she would be able to bear that.  Their gazes locked, 
and Angel knew it would take an incredible force of will he wasn't sure he possessed to 
leave her again.  With that look the others in the room knew how much they still loved 
each other.  Buffy forced herself to turn away and walk across the threshold.


As soon as they were away from Giles' apartment, Riley's questions began.  "Buffy, I 
thought you dusted vampires.  Why?"

"Look, I can't go into it right now.  I have a few things on my mind, like my impending 
death.  Angel's on our side, he's here to help.  Yes, he's a vampire.  He's a good 
vampire."

"There is no such thing as a good vampire," Riley stopped in her path.

"I'll meet you guys back at the dorm," Willow quickly took off into the night.

"Yes there is," she whispered.  "You guys may have some weird way of explaining what 
it is we both deal with, but reality is myths are real.  Things like magic and curses exist.  
Angel has a soul, gypsy curse about a hundred years ago.  He's one of the good guys 
now."

"But there's more to it, the way you were looking at him.  I mean that stuff you were 
saying before about doomed relationships.  Is he the reason you don't want to be with 
me?  He is, isn't he?"

"I don't want to talk about this right now."

"That's it, isn't it?" he grabbed her shoulders, making her look up at him.

She shrugged her shoulders, moving out of his grasp.  "You don't know what you're 
talking about."

"You were dating a vampire?  Then it's not the same.  I told you what it's like for me 
whenever I'm around you, that I can't wait to see you.  This is completely different 
Buffy, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Angel never hurt me."

"Yea, that's why there's a scar on your neck.  That's why you said there was pain and 
death in your past."

"I never said it was his fault."  Riley was thrown by that, he didn't understand what she 
meant.  The confusion was evident on his face as Buffy quickly moved past him.  She 
whirled around to face him, "You think everything is so simple.  You think that just 
because you have feelings for me that it solves everything.  Well it doesn't.  Your skin 
hums when you think about me, but you know what?  My heart aches when he and I are 
apart.  When he comes near me, my soul is at peace again because I'm finally home.  But 
do you want to know what the worst part is?"  Buffy wiped at the tears that had started 
streaming down her cheeks.  She swallowed the lump in her throat, then continued her 
tirade.  "I can't have him.  We can't be
together because of the stupid curse that gives him his soul in the first place!  Do you 
have any clue what that feels like?"

"What did you mean when you said it wasn't his fault?  Who's fault was it?"

Buffy threw her head back, laughing softly as she stared up at the sky.  "Well that would 
be me.  It was my fault," the last part was a soft whisper.  "I told you that you had no idea 
what my life was like.    You and I aren't as alike as you thought.  Do you believe me 
now?"  She turned away from him then, slowly making her way back to the dorms.


"Are you going to tell her?" Cordelia asked, sitting down next to Angel.

He looked away from the picture of Buffy he held in his hand.  "Why should I let her 
know that she was happy and I took it away?"

"She doesn't look very happy to me.  Maybe if she knew that she had been, and that she 
shared that moment with you, it would help her face whatever's coming.  Maybe you 
should let her know that your soul isn't a curse anymore, it's a gift Angel.  The Powers, 
whoever they are know how important it is to have you on their side.  You proved to 
them that you are somebody.  You do make a difference.  You and Buffy are obviously 
stronger together than you are apart.  Apart, you're both dying inside."

"When did you become so observant?"

"It was bound to come out sooner or later.  You guys can be together now."

"She's with someone else."

"What that guy Riley?  Not according to Willow, she's not.  I know everything that Kate 
said got to you, that you feel that you still need to make amends or something and prove 
that you're worthy of Buffy's love.  Buffy's always been able to distinguish you from 
your past even if you couldn't.  Hey, she all but proved that when you came back from 
Hell."

He turned his head, studying her expression as he slipped the picture back into his pocket.  
"She still deserves more than what I can give her."

"Angel, she doesn't want more.  She just wants you.  I mean, the way the two of you 
were looking at each other tonight you might as well have been the only two people in 
the room."

"Am I that obvious?"

"You both are.  Do you know what it's like being around the two of you?"  Angel looked 
up at her and shook his head, waiting for Cordelia to continue.  "Love becomes this 
tangible force that people can almost see, whenever you get near each other.  I've seen 
people in love with each other before, but I've never seen anyone like the two of you.  
You two were meant to be together, don't let her go again.  I'm going to go inside and get 
some sleep now," she got up from the steps in front of Giles' apartment.  "We've got a 
long day tomorrow, you rest too."


Buffy's eyes slowly drifted closed, her head propped up by her hand.  Everybody except 
for Riley had gathered back at Giles' place the next day.  She and Willow had been up 
late studying, and she had barely stayed awake to take the final.  Willow had passed out 
almost immediately as she sat down on the couch.  Now sleep was finally claiming her 
weary body.  The moment she surrendered to it, the dreams came.

It started like it always did.  Buffy dreamt of her seventeenth birthday, the night Angel 
had made love to her.  But afterwards, other images came.  Other moments, cherished 
ones spent in each other's arms.  Joyful moments in the sun, followed by passionate ones 
in the kitchen, and in Angel's bed.  Even in her dream-state Buffy's mind kept telling her 
that she couldn't possibly know what Angel's apartment looked like, she had never been 
in it.  Her heart screamed at her that it had happened, this wasn't a fantasy, this was a 
memory.  Everything she was seeing had come to pass, she
and Angel had been happy together.

Giles looked up from the book in front of him, watching as Buffy's head tossed back and 
forth.  She was dreaming, he was sure of it.  She began to make small whimpering 
sounds, and his brow immediately furrowed in concern.  Willow had woken up and was 
now helping Cordelia look through a book, trying to see if any demons brought 
recognition from her vision.  "Willow, you said Buffy's not been getting any rest.  How 
long has she been like this?"

Willow looked over at her friend, who was tossing slightly on the couch.  The other 
people in the room looked expectantly at her, waiting for an answer.  "Since 
Thanksgiving," she answered.  "She came back from seeing her dad, and that's when I 
first noticed it."

Everyone turned away from Willow to look at Buffy, who was now sitting up on the 
couch gasping for air.  Her entire body was shaking, suffering the after-effects of 
whatever it was she had seen.  She brought her hands up to her face, trying to calm 
herself down.

Giles was immediately by her side, "Buffy are you all right?"  He thought he saw tears in 
her eyes, but she blinked and they were gone.

"I'm fine," she managed to get out between the deep breaths she was taking.

"Well you don't look all right," Cordelia said, just as concerned as the others.

The Slayer got up from the sofa, ignoring the looks she was getting from the people in the 
room.  "I'm okay," she repeated.  "I just didn't rest very much."

"Buff," Willow began.  "Maybe it'd be good to talk about what you're seeing cuz last 
time heart-stealing monsters came to town, and before that your roommate turned out to 
be some soul-sucking demon."

Cordelia made a face, "Your roommate was a demon?"

"A really annoying one," Buffy answered.  "She was doing this weird thing with blood 
and scorpions, it was not fun.  Anyways, I need some air."  She avoided Angel's gaze as 
she walked out the door into the night.

"She shouldn't be alone out there," Cordelia immediately spoke up.  "We still haven't 
figured out my vision, somebody should be with her."

"Well I'd go, but I just thought of something," Spike said.

"What?" Willow asked.

"What if what Cordelia saw wasn't a demon?  What if it was human, like the soldier 
boys?"

"Let's go," Giles said, picking up his coat.


Buffy found herself in the cemetery before she knew it.  Somehow being here just helped 
her to think clearly.  She walked through the familiar headstones, making her way 
towards the grove of trees where she and Angel used to make out during patrol.  She 
settled down on the ground, leaning back against the tree trunk.  The rain started slowly, 
a soft drizzle at first before gaining strength but Buffy didn't even notice it.

"Are you okay?" Riley's voice came to her out of the darkness.

She looked up at him through the veil of water, her hair was soaking wet, hanging in 
strands before her eyes.  He was wearing his military gear, and if she was right then more 
commando boys were out in the dark somewhere.

"What're you doing here?  Won't you be giving away your cover or something?  What'll 
the other boys playing dress up think if you're seen talking with me while in uniform?"

"What's with the hostility?  And you're soaking wet, are you all right?"

"Sorry, just haven't been sleeping well.  I have to go."  She got up from her spot, then 
stumbled slightly as her body began to tingle.  She looked around through the rain, 
wondering where Angel was.  If the Initiative was out here, she didn't want anything 
happening to him.

"Buffy," Angel called.
	
"I'm over here," she answered.

Angel and Cordelia came up to her, spotting Riley.  "Spike had a thought," Cordy began.

Buffy started to say something, then stopped, looking at Angel through the curtain of rain 
that was falling.  She remembered the last time they had been out in the rain together, 
from the look on his face he was remembering it too.  Suddenly her dreams were 
demanding her attention again, tugging at the corners of her mind as the last piece of the 
intricate puzzle fell into place.  Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears, the images in 
her head screaming for recognition.

"What's wrong?" Riley immediately asked.

Buffy couldn't take her eyes off Angel, she knew he had been human the last time she'd 
seen him.  "I, it's nothing.  I just, I'm fine."

"What is it Buffy?" Riley asked again.

Cordelia saw the look on Buffy's face, like she was trying to fight down some really hard 
emotions.  She and Buffy had never been close, but the look on her face reminded her of 
the moment Buffy had come to the realization that she was the cause of Angel losing his 
soul.  She had to find out what was going on, she had to find out what the Slayer was 
seeing in her dreams.	

Riley didn't understand the look on her face, but he was sure it had to do something with 
Buffy's dreams and her past with Angel.  "Sir," he heard Forrest say from somewhere 
behind him.  He turned, Forrest and Graham were standing behind him with their 
weapons raised.  Buffy turned to look at them, their weapons trained on Angel.  She was 
pretty sure they knew who she was and what he was, by the looks of things they weren't 
going to capture Angel.  They were going to kill him, right in front of her.  The weapons 
they had would kill him, there was no way she was going to let that happen especially 
after she remembered what they had together.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.  Buffy immediately threw her body in front 
of Angel's heart, wrapping her arms around his neck, as somebody pulled the trigger.  
Buffy cried out in pain as she felt the crossbow bolt tear through her skin.  Angel's arms 
were instantly around her, supporting her weight as she sagged against him.

"Buffy!" Willow cried.  She, Giles and Xander had just come walking towards the group 
of people when they saw Buffy get shot.

"Buffy," Angel whispered, looking at the arrow protruding through her shoulder in 
horror.

"Kinda like deja vu," Buffy whispered, looking up at Angel.  She buried her face against 
his shoulder as the searing pain continued.  She might be the Slayer, but she still felt pain.

"Oh god," Willow whispered, remembering when Angel had been poisoned.  She 
immediately turned to Riley, "Was there anything on that arrow?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Poison, toxins, was there anything on it?!"

"No, nothing," he answered.  He looked up to see Giles break off the end of the bolt, then 
pull the other end out Buffy's arm.  Her face was buried in Angel's chest, and he barely 
heard her muffled cry as the wood was removed from her flesh.

"Buffy, I," Riley began, moving towards her.

"Stay away from her," Angel growled, his voice deadly.  He lifted Buffy into his arms, 
following the others back to Giles' apartment.  He carried her inside, Spike immediately 
moving out of the way as he set her down on the couch.

Willow immediately went to work, stopping the bleeding, bandaging her friend's wound.

"What happened?" Spike questioned them, watching as Cordelia helped Willow.

"You were right," Xander answered.

They all turned towards the door as someone started pounding on it.  Giles went to 
answer it, grabbing a crossbow before opening it.  He held his weapon level at Riley's 
chest, glaring at him across the threshold.  "You're not welcome here.  Leave now."

"I just wanted to see how Buffy was," Riley began to explain.

Giles' eyebrow arched, his anger evident.  "She's been shot, how do you think she is?"

Cordelia cried out suddenly, her knees buckling underneath her as she fell to the ground.  
She put her hands to her head, squeezing her eyes shut as the images raced through her 
mind.

"What's happening?!" Xander asked.

"She's having a vision," Angel explained.


It was the past, so clear and unlike the one she remembered.  She wasn't seeing things 
from her eyes, she was actually unsure of whose viewpoint it was.  But the feelings, the 
emotions, were what was the most overwhelming.  She was seeing Buffy and Angel's 
past, moments together that none of the others had witnessed.  It was all speeding through 
so quickly, and then she found herself on the stairs leading down into Angel's apartment.  
Cordelia realized it was like she was actually there, but it wasn't really real.

She looked around, and then she saw them.  Buffy and Angel were holding each other, 
tears running down their faces.  'Oh God, it's not enough time,' Buffy cried, before Angel 
hugged her to him fiercely.  Cordelia knew she was seeing the last moments they had 
spent together on the day Angel had been human.  She felt the tears trickling down her 
cheeks, and then her gaze locked with Buffy's, the Slayer knew she was there.


They both sat up at the same moment, gasping for air.  Buffy bolted up on the couch, her 
breath coming in hard, uneven gasps.  Cordelia put her hand to her throat, unable to take 
her eyes off of Buffy.  Finally she knew what Buffy had been dreaming about, for some 
reason she had seen it.  And Buffy knew that.

"Is anybody else thinking that them doing that was no coincidence?" Xander asked, 
putting into words what everyone else was thinking.

Angel helped Cordelia to her feet, settling her on the couch next to Buffy.  "What did you 
see?"

"Aspirin," Cordelia whispered, lightly rubbing her temples.

"You saw aspirin?" Xander asked.

"No, you dummy," Willow hit his arm.  She walked over to Cordy, handing her a glass of 
water and two white pills.  "Okay?"  Cordelia nodded, then Willow turned her attention 
to Buffy.  "What about you?"

Buffy grimaced, tentatively touching her shoulder.  "I'll be okay in a couple days."  She 
sighed, breathing deeply, tilting her head to rest against the back of the couch.  "That 
was, interesting," she trailed off.

Cordelia turned her head, raising an eyebrow at her friend.  "Very, and that's like the 
mild way of putting it.  I could've done without some of it though.  You do realize I'm 
permanently scarred for life?"

"What happened?" Xander asked.  He walked towards the door, then shut it in Riley's 
face as everyone waited for an explanation.

"Weirdest vision ever," Cordelia began.

"What'd you see?" Spike questioned.

"It's not just seeing stuff, it's feeling stuff too.  Some of which, well most of which 
actually, I just never ever ever needed to ever know about," she explained, turning to 
glare at Buffy.

"Hey, it's not like I asked you to pop into my dream.  How did that happen anyway?"

"Ya got me.  That's never happened to me before."

"Wait," Giles stuttered.  "You were in Buffy's dream?"

"Yup," both girls replied.

"So what happened?" Xander pressed.

Cordelia and Buffy both turned to look at each other, their eyes making contact for the 
briefest of moments.  "Nothing," they chorused, turning to stare at the ceiling once more.

"If we're going to figure out exactly," Giles began.

"There's nothing to figure out Giles," Cordelia sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"You obviously saw what Buffy's dreaming about for a reason," Angel stated.

Cordelia and Buffy turned and looked at each other once more.  Buffy shrugged in 
answer, turning to gaze at the ceiling again.  "I think I do know why," Cordy said 
suddenly.  "I mean it's the only logical explanation."

"What?" Buffy asked.  It was obvious Cordy had known something about the dream, that 
it had been real.  She hadn't really been surprised by what she'd seen, and then she hadn't 
told the others what had happened.

Cordelia looked at Angel.  She knew he wasn't going to say anything about his soul 
being permanent, no matter how much he wanted to.  She also knew that Buffy wasn't 
going to tell him that she now remembered, well at least knew about, the day he had been 
human.  She also knew that they were meant to be together.  If this wasn't Fate's way of 
telling them that, then she didn't know what it was.  What she was about to say was 
something that was so private, but she knew there was no other way to do it.

She turned her head, meeting Buffy's gaze.  "Angel can't lose his soul again," she stated 
plainly.

"Cordelia," he practically growled.

She turned to face him, then stuck her tongue out at him.  "Well you weren't going to say 
anything and she should know.  Oh, and that day that you were human, she knows about 
it."

"Cordy!"  This time it was Buffy who practically yelled at her.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Xander said, completely stunned. "You're saying that Angel was 
human?"

Cordelia nodded.  She was the only one of them who knew everything now, and she was 
pretty sure she was the only one who would willingly provide any answers.  "Oh, and 
first things first here, I am never eating on that table again!"


"But I want to hear the kitchen table story!"  Riley heard a very distinct English-accent 
call out from the apartment's open door.  He stood in the shadows, cloaked by the 
darkness.  Buffy came out to sit on the steps, burying her face in her hands.  He saw her 
shoulders begin to shake, and knew she was crying.  Her cries were silent, so as not to 
alert the people standing not far away as to their existence.

But there was another who knew, not because he could see her crying, but because he 
could feel it.  Buffy's tears felt like drops of Holy Water dousing his skin, even though 
they were falling on the ground outside.  Angel ignored the wide-eyed stares of the other 
people and went outside to where she was.

Riley continued to simply watch as Angel took Buffy into his arms, holding her as she 
continued to grieve.  Her tears soaked his shirt, her cries beginning to lessen as he just 
simply held her.  When she spoke, her voice was so soft that Riley wasn't even sure that 
she had uttered any words at all.  "Were we happy?"

Angel felt the tears well up in his eyes as he nodded his head.  Yes they had been happy, 
they had been as happy as when their relationship had first begun.  Like they had been 
before his soul had been torn from him.  They had been able to love each other freely, 
without having to worry about the consequences.  "Buffy," he whispered.  So much was 
said in that simple word, her name.  So much that she knew without him having to say 
anything else.

"I understand," she wept against his chest, very much like she had done in those final 
moments.  Another tear made its way down her cheek as she looked up at him with 
haunted eyes, "So what happens now?"

Angel clenched his eyes shut as the tears finally made their way down his cheeks.  "I 
come home," he whispered, before claiming her mouth with his.

The End